The Universe
by ItsBlue1223
Summary: OC/Ten Elsah Whalters was like any other girl. She lived with her mum and dad, hunting for a job, and ran into something that almost killed her. Along came a mysterious man who went by the name of "the Doctor" and seems to get a high off of this stuff. He promises to show her the universe. Everything she could have ever dreamed for. The universe was hers to explore.
1. Preface

**Preface**

It stared at me straight in the eye. Fear coursed through my veins as easily as blood did. I flattened myself against the wall behind me, trying to stay as far away from it as possible. My whole body shook from the pure terror I felt. Nothing that I had seen before compared to it. It was something I knew, yet it wasn't. It had changed. It had adapted. I was prepared to die. I was prepared to do anything him safe. I knew it was true—I could feel it deep in my bones. I could only flinch at the sound of its scratchy and inhuman voice. "Any last words, girl?" A tear rolled down my cheek before I slowly opened them. I could see him in the distance. The color of his face had completely drained. I took a deep, shuddering breath and nodded.

"My final words are….It was fun." A weak smiled spread across my face. I closed my eyes again and waited for the inevitable to happen—I waited to die. The creature made a low chuckling noise. I could feel it raise its arm, hovering it above my head, before slashing down. Everything went dark and cold and desolate. Was this Hell? Was this Death taking me to my final resting place? Was I even dead?


	2. First Encounters Matter

_Part 1 – The Six Wonders of the Universe_

**Chapter 1 – First Encounters Matter **

"Have a great day, darling." My father pressed a light kiss atop my head. I scrunched up my face, wrinkling my nose.

"Dad, I'm not 10 anymore," I groaned, grabbing an apple and taking a bite. My dad chuckled and ruffled my hair. A sound of dismay escaped my lips as I tried to pat it back down. I turned to childishly stick my tongue out at him, but he was already closing the door behind him. I sighed and turned back to look at the newspaper in front of me. I stared at it blankly, not having any interest in the news that morning.

I heard my mum shuffle in, her dressing gown tied tightly around her waist. She glanced at me. A look of concern crossed her face. Grabbing a quick cup of coffee, she took a seat across from me. "Are you okay, sweetheart? You look a bit distant." She sipped at the hot coffee, her red hair pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head. She was a very pretty woman, even after all this time as a mother. Her blazing emerald eyes still shone like they do in old pictures of her. I kept her young she would tell me before squishing me in a hug. I was an only child, of course. She loved me too much to have another. She also told me _that_ whilst I was slowly being suffocated to death. But, all in all, it seemed like she never aged. She only grew more and more beautiful. It was a wonder to me how Dad managed to keep her away from all of the other men. Dad was a good looking bloke as well, what with his chocolate brown hair and caramel eyes, but it still gave me chills to think true love actually exists.

I looked up at her, slowly blinking away the sleep from my eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a bit drowsy, that's all."

"Well, if you are too tired to go out looking for a job, you could stay home." I smiled at my mother's offer. I loved her for that. She was always looking out for me. Nobody like a mother could so easily offer that up. A small chuckle escaped my lips as I wrapped my hand around hers. Shaking my head, I told her I would be fine. It would pass and all that jazz. She didn't exactly believe me, but she shrugged it off. Pecking a kiss on my cheek as she passed to return to her room, she told me to have a good day and to stay out of trouble. I couldn't help but laugh at that and shake my head. I never went looking for trouble. Trouble just happened to fancy me a bit.

Shrugging on my coat, I opened the door to our flat and left. The day outside was bright and sunny. My eyes slowly adjusted to the sudden brightness. I heard the door next to mine crack open as our neighbor stuck out her head. We exchanged smiles briefly. We barely knew one another, anyway. She thought I was my mother and was looking for a good conversation. But, alas for her, for it was just me. Sighing, she closed the door and returned back to her previous activities. Like a child, I made a face at her door before turning and rushing down the steps to the complex we lived on. My raven hair flowed behind me like a dress skirt, the air billowing out. My dark blue eyes scanned the streets for a vacant cab but found none. I tugged my coat tighter around my body as a sign of determination and began walking down the road. Several people threw friendly smiles at me as we passed one another. I half-heartedly returned them, trying to hail a cab despite them all flying past me with every attempt.

I let out a noise of annoyance as yet another cab flew by me. Looking around, I noticed I was quite far from where I started off. I neither saw anyone walking by nor did I hear any footsteps. My eyebrows knitted together as I spun around in place, looking at the empty streets.

My chest rose and fell slowly, the silence of it all forcing me to notice my breathing, and the sound of blood flowing roared inside my ears. Suddenly, the temperature dropped ten degrees. I rubbed the sides of my arms in an attempt to warm myself. The bag on my shoulder swayed about and hit my hip. A loud sound of metal clanking together echoed from a strip between two buildings. My eyes widened in fear as my heart raced. "He-hello?" I called out, slowly coming closer to the source of the sound. "Hello? Is anyone there?" The small strip was darker than the rest of the street. I looked at it confused. It was too bright out for it to this dark. How was this possible?

My hand ghosted against the wall as I took a tentative step in. The air was even colder in the alley than it was out in the street. I could see my breath every time I exhaled. My jacket was too thin to be of any real aid. My eyes slid over toppled over objects: trash bins, cardboard boxes, unused pipes, etc. The hairs on the nape of my neck stood up, goose bumps rose all along my arms and legs. My head snapped back immediately. I widened my eyes. My jaw fell open as I looked at some sort of…_thing_. It flashed its teeth at me and growled. Its eyes shone in the darkness and its claws dragged against the ground. In a state of panic, I fell onto my rear and began to quickly back away. My eyes were wider than they had ever been. Fear laced itself around my whole body, paralyzing me to do no more than to simply just back away.

I tried to stand up, but my legs wouldn't allow that. My face scrunched up as the creature slowly made its way closer and closer to me. Its mouth began to foam, drool spilling out from the corner of its mouth. Teeth flashed against the dark setting. My life began to flash before my eyes—everything that I had ever seen or did cropped back up. Tears began rolling down my cheeks. I was so scared. I was so very, very scared. I opened my mouth to let out a final scream before I died when something had wrapped itself around me. I was so surprised that my scream died in my throat. My head snapped to the side, hoping that it wasn't another creature.

It wasn't.

It was this man. His eyes blazed, a wide grin spreading across his face. He had his hands wrapped tightly around my shoulders. I was about to ask a stupid question like "What's with the sparkle?" when he turned his head and whispered, "Run." He helped me up, grabbed my hand, and began to sprint. Clumsy me stumbled after him before regaining some of my footing. I had to run faster than expected to keep up with his long-legged stride. My breath came out in huffs and puffs. My hair flew around my face without control. I tried to spit some of it out of my mouth as we ran. We took a sharp left turn and landed inside an empty building. I was breathing loudly—or I think I was, at least. He clamped his hand over my mouth and turned his head to the side, glancing out the door. The sound of the creature was heard in the far distance before dying out. A loud crash echoed and a soft padding faded into the opposite direction of us. He suddenly relaxed, dropping his hand back to his side. His hands rubbed at his face, a small laugh coming from his mouth. I looked at him, half between confused and angry.

"I'm sorry, but are you _laughing_ at that?"

The man's hands fell back down and he looked at me. My breath caught in my throat. Okay, so he was completely mad and one-hundred percent gorgeous. Isn't that always the way? He grinned at me and nodded. "Yes I am. That was _fun!_" He threw his hands above his head, spinning in a circle. Looking back down at me, he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Wouldn't you say so, Miss…?" His voice trailed off in a question.

I pursed my lips and straightened my jacket. My hair was a mess, no doubt, but I could only half care at the moment. "My name is Elsah Whalters," I replied in a bit of a rude tone. Inwardly slapping myself, I sighed. "I apologize. It's just been a bit of a rough morning, I guess you could say." I looked over at him, smoothing down my hair. He tilted his head to the side, a small smile resting on his lips. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, you know who I am, now who are you?" I crossed my arms over my chest, turning myself to fully face him.

The man took his hands out of his pockets and held them behind his back. "Well, hello! My name is the Doctor. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Elsah. Is that short for something? Elizabeth, Elspeth—"

"No, it's just Elsah. And what about you, 'Doctor'? Is it just the Doctor, as well?" The man gave a curt nod, smirking over at me. Cocking an eyebrow, I looked him up and down. He was a tall, thin man that wore a brown pin-striped suit underneath a trench coat. His shoes were an interesting choice since they were All-Star Converse—Chuck Taylors. But, when my eyes refocused on his face, I had to knit my eyebrows together. He was good-looking, there's no doubt about it. But, he was absolutely mad! Bonkers! His hair proved it. I worried my bottom lip between my teeth, shifting myself from one foot to the other. The Doctor smiled and waited patiently for me to finish my silent observations of him. "You're quite odd," I said slowly. He laughed, tilting his head back slightly. He nodded in agreement.

"You are absolutely right, Elsah. I am odd," he leaned forward slightly, arching his back. "And, I am quite proud of that." He spun around on his heel and headed out the door. My eyebrows flew up in surprise. Quickly following after him, I adjusted my bag. "So, tell me, what exactly were you doing out in that alleyway? All alone…on an empty street…away from all other people."

I shrugged, looking down at my feet. I barely noticed what I threw on for shoes, so I sort of laughed when I noticed we both had on Converse. Shaking my head side to side, I said, "I was just looking for a cab and somehow ended up there. I heard a strange noise and…" I flopped my arms against my sides. The Doctor nodded his head slowly and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small, metal, tube-like thing from his pocket and pressed a button. It began to glow and buzz. As he walked over to me, he pointed the thing up and down my body. I subconsciously tried to cover up myself. It felt like he could see through my clothes or something. I blushed at the mere thought.

He made a face at the thin, metal tube and looked back up at me. His eyebrows were tightly knit together as he studied me. "It's strange… You are so very ordinary—"

"Geez thanks. Do you use that on all the girls?"

"No, I didn't mean it like that."

"How did you mean it then? If you weren't suggesting that I was a boring oaf of a girl that can only find herself getting into trouble. Nothing special or important—" I over-reacted a bit, I knew it. However, I had a bit of a harsh morning, so I was being snappy.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that." He placed his hands on my arms. I glared at him, trying to shrug him off. "What I meant to say was that you are ordinary, but that is what makes you special, all right? Ordinary people are always the most important." He tilted his head to the side, trying to get me to look at him. I let out a quick breath and shrugged. Taking this as an okay, his hands slipped from my arms. "Good, now….We need to find out what that was. I didn't get too good of a look at it, but it seemed quite nasty. Low intelligence, no doubt. It isn't powerful and it looked to be alone, so it couldn't very well attack right out in the open. Since it is neither of those things, it would need a camouflage or shimmer of some sort…But it didn't, thus making it a lower intelligence species. Either that or highly sure of its lone success…" The Doctor spoke faster than I could follow. His words made no sense. What did he mean by all of that? He couldn't have been suggesting it was something of non-terrestrial origins. I scoffed at the mere thought of it and brushed it off. No, it was a silly suggestion in that.

The Doctor began to stride in the opposite direction of which we came. Suddenly noticing, I ran to catch up with him. Lord, he walked too quickly. I was quite winded once I had caught up. Looking over at him, I took out my phone and dialed home. My mother picked up after two rings, her sing-song voice coming over the line. "Hey, Mum, it's me."

"Ah, how are you, darling? Did you find a job already?" A background noise of pots and pans being bumped together could be heard. A small laugh passed my lips as I ducked down my head.

"No, not yet…I just wanted to say I might be a bit late coming home tonight." I bit my lip as we rounded a corner. I let out a sigh of relief as people rushed about on the streets. I had forgotten how reassuring humanity was. "I, uh, I don't know when I'll be home, Mum, but…I just wanted to let you know. I love you. Talk to you later." The call ended as I pressed the button and slipped my phone back into my pocket. The Doctor remained silent, continuing on with his stride. My chest rose and fell more rapidly than it had before. People that passed up glanced at us with an odd look on their faces. I licked my lips nervously and rubbed my palms against my trousers. The Doctor barely noticed their looks, however, and continued to rush on forwards. I don't even know why I was following him. I suppose it was just because I wanted to know what had tried to kill me just as much as he did. Suddenly, it hit me.

My head snapped up, as if my name was called. I slapped the back of my hand against the Doctor's chest. We both stopped in the middle of the walk. I looked over at him excitedly. I grabbed his hand and dragged him after me. I guess I was coming home a little bit _earlier_ than I had expected. "It just hit me, Doctor! It flew right over my head at first, but it hit me right then!" The Doctor made a confused face at me, looking down at our hands even more confused.

"But…I do the hand thing! I'm supposed to grab _your_ hand and drag you off somewhere!"

"First off, watch your word phrasing," I said, smirking at him over my shoulder. "Secondly, today isn't exactly a normal day, now is it?" He sighed and agreed with me. Reluctantly, he followed after me. We had just reached my flat complex when the Doctor slipped his hand out of mine. For some reason, I pouted at that. Thinking it odd, I shook my head. I straightened my back and started to head up the steps. By the time we reached my door, I was back to huffing and puffing whilst the Doctor was completely fine, the bastard.

I pulled my key out of my pocket and slid it in the lock. The door swung open with a small creak. I saw my mum sitting on the sofa, watching telly. I smiled at her and closed the door behind the Doctor. He looked around the flat and said, "Nice…Very quaint." Rolling my eyes, I threw my key on the countertop and walked over to my mum. I pressed a kiss to her cheek as she looked back at us.

"Sorry about earlier. I thought I would be out longer."

"Oh, I understand why." She smirked and looked back at the Doctor. He gave a little wave over at her, returning her smirk with equal force. "So, you went man hunting, eh?"

"Mum!" I shouted, a pink blush coloring my cheeks. She laughed and stood up.

"Oh, quit your fussing! I know what you're doing, missy. I'll go make some tea." She quickly left the room to go to the kitchen. The pink on my cheeks slowly faded when she left. I turned round and gestured for the Doctor to sit. He plopped down on the sofa and placed his hands behind his head.

"You make yourself at home pretty quickly…"

"Yeah, happens quite a bit," he replied, shrugging ever so slightly. I sat down on the chair across from him, pushing it a bit closer for a better conversation. "Now, what was it that had you so excited earlier? What did you remember?" He looked at me casually, like any bloke you might see. Except, there was still that shining to his eyes—still that bit of excitement and interest burning behind his eyes. What about this situation was so fascinating to him? I nearly died! But, then again, he did appear to more mad than a hatter. I chuckled at my joke, adjusting myself in the chair.

"It's like you said. You didn't get a good look at the thing. I, however, did." He sat up in interest, resting his elbows on his knees. Cocking his head to the side, he gestured for me to go on. "Well, you don't exactly nearly get murdered by a strange thing that isn't of Earth originates and not get a good look of it."

"Good point. Go on."

I smirked. This man seemed to be so used to knowing everything and now I had something that I knew more about. A bit odd to be silently gloating about that, yes, but I still liked to think of ways to keep myself from nearly dying of boredom with myself. "Okay, so…where to begin?" I launched off and told the Doctor of what I saw. I could only describe it with things I knew. To me, it looked like a crossbreed of a gorilla and panther. It was large, yet slim and sly. Its eyes glowed like a cats, but its teeth were too large for a cat—more likely of a large ape. Its claws were the worst bit. They dragged across the ground as it stalked towards me. Everything about it screamed danger and animal. My heart began to pick up pace as I recalled how it looked, trying my best to explain in in detail for the Doctor. Every now and then, he would nod his head or change its position.

By the time I finished, my mum sauntered back in with a tray of hot, steaming cups of tea. They smelled like peppermint—our favourite kind. The Doctor absentmindedly grabbed a cup and pressed it to his mouth. I rolled my eyes at him and blew on the drink. He didn't seemed fazed by the heat, though. My mum smiled over at him, glancing between the two of us every so often. Clearing her throat, she said, "So, who might you be then?"

"I'm the Doctor," he replied, looking and smiling at her. "I met your daughter not too long ago. We had a bit of a problem, but it's all solved now. Well, more or less." He threw a wink at me, taking another swig of the drink in his hand. My face flushed like mad. I ducked down my head, embarrassed. Mum made an amused sound and hid her grin in her cup. Apparently, this man won over the approval of my mother—not like it was that hard, but still.

"Well, it is very nice to meet you then, Doctor. My name is Mary Whalters." She held out her hand, to which the Doctor took and kissed. It was then that she started to blush. What couldn't he do, honestly? I never thought to see the day a man—other than my dad—making my mother blush. She was sweet and nice, but not really one to be easily embarrassed or flattered. Shaking my head, I set my cup down. "Oh, I like him, Elsah. You should keep him."

"Mum, he isn't a dog! And, would you please keep your mouth shut?"

"Oh, I don't know. I think she can keep talking." I looked up and glared at the Doctor. He grinned over at me, waggling his fingers. Honestly, that man was heading in the right direction for a smacking, he was. I took a deep breath and ran a hand through my hair. I wondered what he thought it could possibly be. I didn't have the foggiest.

My mum gathered up our empty cups and brought them to the kitchen. When she came back, she pressed a kiss into my hair. "I'm just going to visit Jessica for a few hours. I'll be back before dinner." I nodded. She grabbed her handbag and left our flat. My hands rubbed against the fabric of my trousers out of habit. I glanced up at the Doctor, his face void of emotion as he stared off into space. My hair fell into my face. I tucked it behind my ears, getting annoyed with it tickling my cheeks. He refocused back into reality and looked over at me.

"I think I may know what we are dealing with," he said quietly. He jumped up from the sofa and reached for my hand. I linked our fingers together and got up, as well. Together, we raced out the door and flew down the steps. I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face as we dodged people on the sidewalks. Several of them let out a noise of annoyance. I would glance over my shoulder and see them making rude gestures at us and it just made me laugh. This was all so completely mad and I knew I should have backed away and run for my life away from this man I had just met, but something about him just made me stay. I blamed my longing for something new to happen, but deep down I knew it was because of his excitement and his interest. But, most of all, I could see how lonely he was. Behind that hard and happy exterior lay such a lonely man in need of someone to keep him company. I knew I had to be that someone—even if it was just for a bit.

Racing along the sides of the streets, we almost missed the noise of a low growl and metal scraping against metal. Backing up, we looked down a dark strip between two buildings, sending chills down my spine. Good memories, eh? The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows together and slowly made his way down the alley. He had that strange metal tube out again and was waving it around, the light and buzzing could be clearly heard. I almost told him to put it away when the hairs on the nape of my neck stood up. I stiffened at the feeling, remembering what happened previously.

The Doctor turned to face me, slowly raising his hands. "Don't move. Stay perfectly still." Fear laced itself in every last inch of my body. I tried to look at it from the corner of my eyes, but I saw nothing. A small noise passed my lips, trying not to shake too badly. The Doctor quietly made his way past me, talking in soft, soothing tones. "Hey, hey….it's okay. Don't be scared." _Scared_!? How the _hell_ was he worrying about that thing being scared!? "We're not going to hurt you, I promise. Are you lost? Yeah, I thought so. I can help you. No, really I can. Cross my hearts." Hearts? Surely he meant heart rather than…. Then again, he was always full of surprises.

The creature behind her made several whimpering noises. I could hear it shift its body, adjusting to the presence of the Doctor. My whole body shook as I took a shuddering breath. My head shifted ever so slightly so I could see what the Doctor was doing. My mouth fell open. He was _petting_ the damn thing! _Petting it_! I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation. What next would he do? Adopt it and keep it as a cat or something?

"You are impossible," I murmured. I stooped down and stared at the creature that was now sound asleep. The Doctor smiled down at it, rubbing all along its back. Its fur or hair or whatever looked really soft… Before I knew what was happening, I found myself petting it, as well. Honest to God, this man was influential. This thing had tried to kill me earlier and now I was stroking it. Where has my logic gone to?

He gave it one last pat before standing up. I heard his back crack. It sounded….nice. You know, it sounded like it felt nice. A light blush colored my cheeks as I ridiculed myself for being stupid. He twisted about, making weird noises. "Now then… I feel better. I think we should get him back to where he belongs."

"Which would be?"

"Very far away." He grinned at me, his teeth extremely white against the dark. I blinked up at him, confused. How are we supposed to move this thing? For one thing, it probably weighed a ton or three. Another thing was that it was fast asleep. I opened my mouth to inquire as to how we would be moving it before I heard a whirring sound. Looking up, the Doctor wasn't where I last saw him. I started to panic and look around, ignoring the rush of air blowing my hair around. But, that noise was getting really annoying. Groaning, my eyes landed on the area that seemed to be the source, but nothing was there. Suddenly, something started to appear. My eyes widened in surprise and I fell flat on my rear—the second time that day. A weird looking blue box was materializing right in front of my eyes.

After a moment, everything settled down. I stared at the box, my mouth hanging open. Not too long after, the door swung open and the Doctor came striding out. His devilish smirk was worn proudly as he walked over to me. "Impressive, huh?" I could only nod and give a small shrug in response. Holding out his hand, he helped me up. My legs were still a bit shaky, but I could stand up fine.

Glancing down, he smiled at the great lump. "How are we going to move that thing, might I ask?"

"With the TARDIS," he said, pointing back to the box. My eyebrows flew up in surprise. We were supposed to drag that thing onto that tiny box and expect to bring it back to where it belonged—wherever that was. I shook my head, doubting the Doctor. He may be good, but he can't be that good. I mean, if that thing could hold them all in it and materialize from and to different place that would mean he would have to be an alien or something. I almost laughed at the thought until I thought of the possibility of it being true. I guess my face gave something away because he asked, "Are you okay?"

Looking over at him, I nodded. "Yeah. Fine." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at me, but shrugged it off. He patted the creature, waking it up. It blinked sleepily, looking up at him like a lost puppy. Something inside of me sort of changed because I actually started to think it was kind of cute. Then again, everything looked cuter when it wasn't trying to kill you.

Shakily getting to its feet, the creature shook its body to wake itself up a bit more. The Doctor grinned down at it, leading it over to the box. Sighing, I followed suit. Once they had both stepped into the box, I reluctantly went in, as well. Closing the door behind me, I expected to feel them both pressing against me. As I turned around, I felt my heart sank. It can't be….

My shoulders slumped down. It was bigger on the inside. I leaned against the doors and looked around. My eyes scanned across the ceiling and following the pattern on the walls. I saw the Doctor standing around this large, circular piece of machinery set in the centre of the whole room. That was the final line of it all—he wasn't just a mad man. He was an alien and I didn't know what to think of it. "Like I said before, you are impossible."

"Oh, I'm not impossible. Just very unlikely." He grinned at me, flipping down a switch and sending the whole machine to begin to shudder. My hands flew to the centre control mechanism. The whole thing whirred and shook. I clung to it as tightly as I could, almost sure of my immediate death. When it stopped shaking, I let out a breath of relief.

He threw open the doors and light poured in. I held up my hand, covering my eyes from the sudden light. A noise came from the creature. It sounded like happiness. A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips. It made me smile, despite myself. I wondered where on Earth we were, so I let my hand fall down.

Why did I always end up being wrong?

The world outside of those doors was certainly not anything on Earth. The sky was a pale purple hue with blue and greens swirling around it. The air was hot and humid and smelt of something sweet. But, it most certainly was beautiful. I slowly walked over to the Doctor who was leaning against the door frame. His hands were shoved in his pockets, again. "He's back where he belongs, now. Back home."

"What was he, exactly?"

"Well, he was an alien." I rolled my eyes. He was just pointing out the obvious now. "His species are called the Cantaloonians. They are a sort of basic species. Nothing more than just wild beats ruling a planet of their own. Reminds me of early Earth. Dinosaurs used to be like that…" I nodded, understanding what he meant. We took a moment longer to absorb the beauty of the planet before the Doctor pulled the doors shut. He rushed back to that control thing and pulled down another lever. I wrapped my arms tightly around the railing, holding on just enough to not fall over.

I pushed against the doors and found myself right outside of my flat complex. A sort of sadness settled over me. He was returning me back home. Shame. "Well, I thought it would be better to give you less of a journey to go home." I turned round and looked at him. He stood tall, his trench coat falling gently behind him. My eyes fell to the ground. I nodded slowly.

"Thanks." Turning back, I could see my mum opening the door and walking in to the flat. Sighing, I took a step out. A warm touch pressed itself against my hand. Looking over my shoulder, I saw it was the Doctor. He had his eyebrows pressed together.

"Or, I mean, you could always—"

"Yes?"

"Well," he said, sort of timidly, "you could come with me? Traveling around not just in space, but time. It's a space ship and a time machine in one convenient box." He patted the inside of the TARDIS affectionately.

I took a deep breath and looked back at my flat. "I should go to my mum and…"

"Course, right. Sorry."

"Well, it would just be rude if I just up and left without telling her and without something else to wear. You don't look like the sort to have size 2 women's clothes. Then again, you are pretty thin—"

"Oi, watch it!" I snickered and stuck out my tongue. We smiled at each other for a second before what I had just said hit him like a ton of bricks. "Oh…oh, so you're coming?" He asked me excitedly. When I nodded, his grin grew wider. He squished me in a mushy hug, but I found myself not noticing. He waved me off, instructing me to tell my mum before we went off.

I took the steps two at a time. My hands shook as I reached for the doorknob and twisted it. Mum rushed about, cleaning the living room a bit. She looked over at me, smiling. "Hi sweetie. Where is your boyfriend?"

"Mum, he isn't my boyfriend," I groaned, lolling my lead back. She chuckled and walked over to me. "Anyway, he's down in the street. I came up to tell you—"

"No need, darling. I knew this day would be coming." Her smile was soft and sad. "Remember when your favourite shirts and trousers and socks would go missing?" I narrowed my eyes at her and nodded. "Well, they are the clothes I packed for you when this day came." She opened up the cupboard door—the one we rarely use—and pulled out a decent sized backpack. She tentatively handed it over to me, her hands shaking slightly. I took it and slung it over my back. Tears filled my eyes as I looked at her. My mum. So heartbroken that her baby girl was finally growing up.

I cupped her face in my hands and pressed our foreheads together. Her hands wrapped around my wrist, her eyes closed. "I love you, Mum. Never forget that. I love you so much." I kissed her forehead and pulled away. She let out a strangled sob and nodded her head up and down. "Tell Dad the same. I love you both. I won't be too long, I promise." Her hand reached up and stroked my face.

I closed the door silently behind me. It felt like a blow to the heart when I looked at her face. I never wanted to see that look on her face, ever. I hope I never see it again. Taking a deep breath, I starting down the steps. My feet made a soft pounding noise against the metal which helped to clear my head. I just hoped she would be all right.

The Doctor stood outside of the TARDIS, flipping his strange metal device up into the air. "What is that, anyway?"

"It's my sonic screwdriver," he said, pressing the button. The end lit up and the buzzing came from it. "It opens doors and—"

"Wow, so impressive. It opens doors!? Whoa! It's not like people can do that or anything…"

"It opens _locked_ doors, thank you very much. It also messes with machinery and computers. Quite useful, actually." He jutted out his chin, no doubt trying to intimidate me. I just rolled my eyes at him and pushed open the doors. I sighed as I looked around the room again. This would be my home for God knows how long. Hopefully for a very long time.

The Doctor tapped me on the shoulder as he passed, acting like a child. He pulled what looked to be a monitor in front of him and studied it before glancing down and hitting several buttons. The TARDIS let out a low hum. "She's ready whenever you are." He leaned forward, tilting his head to the side. I let my bag thump down to the floor, shaking it a bit. I inhaled shakily. I was already way too excited for this. I gave a curt nod and the Doctor pushed down the lever. The TARDIS began to whirr and off we went. To distant lands and times. Here we come.


End file.
